Boiled Turkey Necks

How to cook boiled turkey necks on the stove so the meat is fork tender. Then enjoy as is or make into a delicious gravy for your holiday meal.

We first shared air fryer turkey necks the other day. Those get really crispy with a dry rub on the outside. Now it was time to get it as tender as possible so the meat just falls right off. The best way to do this with any protein is to submerge in boiling water for a while.

How Long to Boil Turkey Necks

It will take you about 1 hour to have the meat fall off the bone and create a fragrant and flavorful broth. We will share how to do this on the stove or in a pressure cooker takes a fraction of this time with the same result if you have that machine.

Since it’s going to be in there a good hour it is best to add some seasonings and a few pieces of produce. White or yellow onion, celery and carrots are the most commonly used for this or when boiling a whole chicken too. When done you can then use this homemade turkey broth of sorts in other recipes.

Boiling a Turkey Neck

Typically if you are cooking a whole or cut up raw turkey you will only get one of these. That will yield a bit of meat but if you want to make just this you can usually find some at your grocery store or local butcher shop.

They may be frozen, fresh, whole or cut into thirds in this case here. The timing doesn’t change much except that the more you add the lower the temp of the water will be so it would take longer.

If you have a Dutch Oven it works quite well to keep a consistent temperature since it is made of cast iron. A large pot will work just as well but you’ll want a lid on it to keep it at a medium high heat. If you are going to use the broth later for something you’ll want a colander or sieve to strain the bits out of it.

How Long to Boil Turkey Necks

An hour is about what you’ll need to account for. Give or take 10 minutes here or there of course depending on how large they are. If cut into smaller pieces it takes a bit less but set aside a good 60 minutes to get as moist as you see here. SO good y’all. You’ll need;

Boiling Frozen Turkey Necks

The timing is no different whether they are right out of the freezer or fresh/defrosted. Since it takes a while it has plenty of time to thaw out and continue cooking from the outside in, enough to have the meat fall off the bone in 1 hour either way.

How do you clean turkey necks before cooking?

You will rinse under cold water and remove any excess fat that may be present. If there are any feathers or part there of stuck into the meat pull those out and discard to clean them off. Some people prefer to soak turkey necks in a saltwater solution to help remove any residual blood and impurities too but that is optional.

Ingredient Notes

 You are going to want one or a few turkey necks frozen or fresh. I tend to buy a bag of them after the holidays and make a soup out of it but if you only had one from your bird after Thanksgiving you could just cut this recipe in half for that.

You will want liquid for boiling of course. Beef broth or turkey drippings are better than just plain water but you will need enough to submerge them no matter what you choose to use.

• Bay leaves I like for flavor but is optional
• I like to add vegetables to serve with this and add flavor to the broth. Celery, a quartered onion and carrots are my favorites.
• Sprinkle of salt and pepper if desired
• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic

If you want to use it ALL of it after removing your tender turkey necks you should go further. After that just use a strainer to remove small pieces left. Use the broth then to make a leftover turkey soup, to make mashed potatoes or turkey neck gravy (seen below).

Instant Pot Turkey Necks

If you wanted to do this same thing in your pressure cooker you could. It would of course be much faster and you would get the same outcome. For those instructions follow Instant Pot necks recipe. Works the same for chicken or this bird just the same.

How to make turkey neck broth

If you want to use the broth in the pot you’ll want to remove the remaining vegetables and bay leaves with a slotted spoon, discard. Strain the liquid through a sieve to remove smaller pieces. Use immediately or allow to cool and spoon out the solidified fat that rises to the top off. Store in jars with lids in the fridge to use within 4 days.

What should you serve with turkey necks?

What we traditionally serve with this meat if it is left as is would be dolloped on top of a bed of taters with gravy and slow cooker collard greens on the side. There are complete instructions below. You can print recipe to keep on hand or come back whenever you need it.